A 240 Mile Run - Review

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Had a run up to Lockerbie yesterday to visit family - it's the first proper run I've done on the GSA (2018), at 240 miles.

Whilst a bit monotonous I took the motorway as it virtually halves the journey time and I had to get there for a set time.

I did two short stops, one for fuel, one to grab a snack, so about 20 minutes out of the saddle in about 5 hours (lots of stop/start on the M6) :mad:

The seat is the standard GSA seat and I was wearing Endura padded boxer shorts and I have to say, it was a great combination, with no sore ass throughout the entire trip.

The riding position is just fab - no aches and pains, and no stretching required, other than needing to flex my right hand whilst on cruise control, as my thumb joint got a bit sore. I tucked in with a group of sports bike riders (and a GS) for about 25 miles, and they were stretching arms and legs to gain relief quite regularly.

The screen isn't particularly good at my height (5ft 11 1/2) - you're certainly not protected from significant buffeting at speed, but I found the best position is about a 1/2 turn down from max as it's the most upright position - on max the screen actually dips down a bit. I've read so much about aftermarket additions, some good, some not so good - it's a bit of a minefield.

With the larger tank and it's angular trim my knees and thighs were in a completely wind free zone which was nice.

At around 4500rpm there's vibration, but never enough to be a problem and zero through the bars at any speed.

Lots of road surface noise coming up from the fork/tank gap as expected - not a lot can be done, but as on it's road tyres (Dunlop Roadsmart III's) it's probably better than the Anakees would have been.

The TFT/NAV 6 combination - just brill, though I still haven't sussed out how to get a "last command" through the headset - please tell me if you know :thumb2.

I use the NAV 6 as the central controller, pairing both the phone and SENA 10U to it, leaving the TFT just as an typical instrument panel - the FM radio on the SENA doesn't hold a signal, so I set the phone to Radioplayer, dialled in a DAB station and had uninterrupted radio the whole journey, even in the more hilly border regions. The only problem being that because the phone was in my pocket I couldn't change stations.

During the journey I hit significant rain, but what was impressive was that progress remained so effortless - at one point I glanced at the speedo to see I was doing xx:augiemph in shit conditions, but it seemed much less, as the bike was so "together".

Anyway - I arrived very impressed at it's overall capability, got off with no aches and pains and parked the bike up.

All in all - one happy GSA owner :thumb
 

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Great write up and glad you are enjoying the GSA. I have a 2014 model and recently went from Gatwick to Windermere (300 miles) in one stint..... as fresh as when I left upon arrival. IMHO, they are the consummate long distance traveller on a par with the RT & K1600.
 
Great review, thanks for sharing. Probably mainly down to you choosing the fastest colour.
 
That's what they do....Munch the Miles!....and they probably do it better than any other bike...period!

G/S...Gelände/Straße or “off-road/road”

Enjoy!
 
The road noise on the front end is in the main due to the sat nav cradle causing disturbance of the airflow running up the back of the screen, when mine was delivered BMW forgot to fit the Sat Nav Kit (it was done at the first service) and without it the bike was significantly quieter and suffered from less turbulance.

Looks like BMW did all the testing and then clagged on the sat nav bracket where it would fit
 
Nice report John... rode home on the Anakees today... no noise, but it was pissing down:D

Btw, I put an MRA screen extenda on top of my screen, works perfectly. I am 5'11" and a half too... ;)

Me and swmbo rode 638 miles home from Lyon in one day, last summer. Used air hawk for the seats, but no aches and pains in the riding position.... as other have said, the consummate tourer :bow:thumby:
 
Nice report John... rode home on the Anakees today... no noise, but it was pissing down:D

Btw, I put an MRA screen extenda on top of my screen, works perfectly. I am 5'11" and a half too... ;)

Me and swmbo rode 638 miles home from Lyon in one day, last summer. Used air hawk for the seats, but no aches and pains in the riding position.... as other have said, the consummate tourer :bow:thumby:


Thanks Al - do you have a link to the MRA?
 
no sore ass throughout the entire trip:thumb
why did you take a donkey with you? :green gri I agree with you, great ride all day bikes. I recently rode 300 miles from the NW of Scotland with a fractured ankle and knee, but no sore arse:thumb2
Alan R
 
Just to update and close this thread in one go - I did the return journey today with just one 5 minute stop for fuel during my 240 mile run and arrived home fresh as a daisy - with just the throttle thumb pain.

Well impressed :thumb2
 


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